If you’re researching the launch of a new or add-on e-commerce site, it’s likely you will find two big contenders in the platforms available, Etsy and Shopify.

If you sell vintage, handcrafted or one-of-a-kind items you produce, you likely already know the Etsy platform.

Founded in 2005, Etsy can boast of 7.4 million active sellers and 94.1 million active buyers. Etsy is not so much an e-commerce platform as it is a ginormous marketplace for a very defined audience. For sellers, underpinning that marketplace is a whole suite of tools that make creating your first Etsy “store” pretty straightforward.

It’s a great place to “window-shop” and that’s a big part of Etsy’s success. Shopify, in comparison, is a juggernaut, and powers more than one million businesses in more than 175 countries. But, your goals do not have to be to dominate e-commerce like Godzilla.

Shopify offers many options and a lot of flexibility for sellers of all sizes. Shopify is for tinkerers who want the ability to “get under the hood” and customize their store. As your favorite techie will tell you, Shopify is very “extensible” and can scale to meet the needs of small to very large businesses.

If you want to go deeper to understand the economics of these two platforms, play around with our calculator to see how real world scenarios based on your plans will impact your business and bottom line. We’ve taken into account all the fees associated with these platforms including listing fees, transaction fees, etc. We haven’t included taxes as those vary widely depending on the location of your business.

You can learn even more about the two platforms by reading our blog post, Shopify vs Etsy: Shopping for Your Next E-commerce Platform.

Dive in and then you can make a more informed decision.